A lottery for an annual group-led hike along the Backbone Trail will open Wednesday, which will offer those who are chosen a chance to explore some of Southern California’s last wild lands.

The 67-mile-long, contiguous trail forms the spine of a 500-mile network of trails between L.A. and Ventura counties. Four decades in the making, the Backbone Trail was completed in 2016, and runs uninterrupted from Will Rogers State Historic Park, through the Santa Monica Mountains, toward Point Mugu State Park.

The hike takes place over eight Saturdays in the winter and spring, one of the best ways to explore it, said Ralph Waycott, a National Park Service volunteer who has been co-leading the hike for more than 10 years.

“By doing it in segments over the course of four months, the hike is like a field study class, allowing closer examination of the most intriguing resources while seeing the seasonal changes occur right in front of us,” Waycott said.

The lottery will be open from Wednesday to Sept 30 and the hike takes place over eight Saturdays in the winter and spring of 2018. Twenty-eight participants will be selected.

Each segment is an average of 8.5 miles with 3,200 feet of elevation gain and loss and the hike speed is considered moderate, National Park Service officials said. Short breaks will include discussions on botany, geology, geography, local Native American tribes and other topix. The hike is scheduled to begin at the western trailhead in Point Mugu State Park on Jan. 13 and end at the eastern trailhead in Will Rogers State Historic Park on April 28.

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